New Camcorders Emerge At The High End

NEW YORK – In an effort to offer camcorders that diverge from basic HD video shooting available in mobile devices, several manufacturers geared up for spring by adding interesting new performance twists to the high end of their consumer lines.

JVC and Canon each ushered in new flagship FullHD prosumer-level camcorders, with advanced still and HD video shooting capability while Sony produced a second-generation binocular/camcorder with improved dual electronic viewfinders and high-speed still image capture capability.

Chris Chute, IDC Research director, said manufacturers this year have shifted attention toward point-of-view cameras on the low end, and advanced $800-plus models on the high end, to generate profit opportunities.

“We expect further consolidation of vendor product lines so as to re-align around more profitable, higher price points,” Chute said.

The video binoculars also offer Optical SteadyShot, G lenses, and are 30 percent lighter than the original model. They are also splash and dust resistant. Sony said users can select the variable zoom to sweep surroundings at low magnification before zooming in seamlessly to pinpoint a subject.

The DEV-50V/B’s XGA OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinders have improved resolution and contrast for left and right eyes. The Exmor R CMOS sensor, helps boost electronic viewfinder brightness using a new Hyper Gain function.

The HD CMOS Pro image sensor was enlarged to accommodate the new lens.

The camcorder includes a Digic DV 4 image processor and SuperRange optical image stabilization and a SuperRange feature with a Dynamic Mode to reduce image distortion while moving.

For the first time in the Gseries lineup, both 1080/60p MP4 (35Mbps) and AVCHD Progressive (28Mbps) recording options are available through a Dual Recording feature. This allows producing both short clips for online posting or more in-depth video.

Two SD card slots are included along with a Relay Recording feature to automatically continue recording while switching to a second SD card.

A 3.5-inch OLED touchpanel display utilizes Electrostatic technology to control focus, exposure, and track shooting subjects with the swipe or touch of the display.

The camcorder includes a 0.24-inch, 1.56-million-dot angle- adjustable color viewfinder.

Wi-Fi connectivity to smartphones and tablets is supported with specialized apps.

A free JVC Cam Coach app for iOS and Android is available to help sports coaches make annotations on the playback image. Flaws in an athlete’s form can be noted by drawing on the screen.

Other features include: a Twin View function that enables simultaneous side-by-side playback of two different video clips after they’re transferred to a tablet for comparative viewing; a tagging function that allows scenes to be tagged for easy access at any time; and a scoring function to record a running tally of a game score in progress by tapping on a smartphone.

Resolution is listed at FullHD 1,920 by 1080/60p video at 36Mbps, a bit rate that allows FullHD slow-motion playback, which is useful for motion analysis or special effects.

Five shooting speeds range from 120 fps to 600 fps, and still image burst shots can be captured at 9 fps.

Other shooting modes include high-speed digital still recording at up to 60 fps and variable speed time-lapse recording. A Zoom Position Memory feature helps analyze sports plays to provide quick switching among Full Wide, Full Tele, and a user-settable position.

It includes a 3-inch tilting LCD monitor for high- and low-angle recording, and an LCD monitor hood. An optional color viewfinder is also available.